mokay



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet I,

F. S. McKAY. GLOIIHES LINE.

No. 515,354. Pa tentd Feb. 27, 1894.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2, P. S. MoKAY. CLOTHES LINE.

(No Model.)

No. 515,354. Patented Feb. 27, 1894* column.

1 UNITED STATES PATENT UEEICE.

FREDERICK s. MOKAY, OF HATLEY, CANADA.

CLOTH ES-LINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 515,3 54, datedFebruary 27, 1894.

Application filed April 15, 1893. Serial No. 470,504. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that'I, FREDERICK S. MCKAY, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, residing at Hatley, in'the county of Stanstead and Province ofQuebec, Canada, have invented a new and useful Clothes-Line, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to clothes-line apparatus, and is in the nature ofan improvement on my prior patent granted on the 28th of April, 1891,No. 451,065, to which reference may be had.

The prime object of my improvement is to provide novel and eflicientmeans for readily securing the articles on the clothes-line by twistingthe same in a prescribed manner; said means being arranged and locatedin a convenient manner so that the device can be operated by a singleperson from a given point.

This invention has for its further object to furnish certain otherauxiliary and co-operating appliances necessary for producing anoperative and labor-saving device of this class.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved clothes-lineapparatus which shall be simple and durable in construction, inexpensivein manufacture, easy and convenient in operation, and capable of generaladaptability.

For the attainment of these several objects, and for other purposeshereinafter enumerated, this invention comprises certain improvements inthe construction, arrangement and operation of parts, substantially ashereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecificationFigure 1 is a view in side elevation of my complete deviceshowing it in operative position in a yard. Fig. 2 is a similar viewshowing the invention as adapted to be operated from an elevatedposition or location, such as a veranda or-window. Fig. 3 is a detailend or face elevation of the frame containing the line-twisting-devices.Fig. 4: is a central vertical section of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detailperspective view of the support for the two twisting disks. Fig. 6 is.adetail view of the crank-gear or disk and its connection with one of thetwistingdisks. Fig.7 is a detail perspective view of the twist-holder ortightener, shown detached from the line.

Like letters of reference mark the same or corresponding parts in theseveral views of the drawings.

Referring to Fig. 1 A A designate two posts or supports which areseparated the desired distance and are of any suitable shape orconstruction, according to the special location of the device. On thepost A and at a point on its inner face the required height above theground is secured a bearing bracket, B, in which is journaled a sheaveor pulley, O, and over such sheave or pulley runs a doubled wire orfibrous rope or cable, D, which is composed of two strands, a a. Therope D has its two ends spliced or tied together, as at b, forming anendless doubled rope passing over the pulley C. At the other end of thecord or rope D, the post A is located and is composed of'two verticalparallel standards, E E, suitably braced and held apart a slightdistance, between which is journaled a sheave or pulley, F, mounted on ashaft, 0, which, in turn, rests loosely in journal-openings in the twoopposite standards E E.

The outer side of the standard E is provided near its top with acircular recess, G, in which is j ournaled a crank beveled-gear, H,mounted on a stud-shaft, I, and preferably in the form of a screw so asto be removable at will. Interlneshing with the gear H is a twisterdisk, J, skeleton in form and comprising the four intersecting spokes'KK, the spokes K being provided on one side with a series oflongitudinally-disposed undercut curved notches, e 6, designed toreceive and hold in set position the strands ct CtOf the ropeD whichpasses through this twister disk. One of the spokes K is weighted by anintegral web or enlargement, f, formed at the junction of the spoke andits rim, such weight being for the purarrangement as the disk J exceptthat it has not bevel-teeth on the rear portion of its rim.

The twister-disks J J are held in engagement and position byface-plates, L L, each consisting of a rectangular plate preferablyformed of a non-oxidizable metal, bolted to the front face of a standardE or E and having its edge adjacent to the two disks J J projecting intoa groove or channel, h, running centrally and circumferentially aroundthe rim or tread of each twister disk, as shown. By this constructionthe disks J J are held in upright position by the two face-plates L L.

It will be understood that the twister disks are held in engagement witheach other and one of them with the gear H, by the rope D. I do not,however, confine myself to any special form or arrangement forsupporting the twister disk, nor to any particular construction of theframe for the operating parts, since it is manifest that the form ofthese parts will depend upon the location in which they are placed.

As shown clearly in Figs. 1, and 6, the gear H is provided with acrank-handle, M, by which the operator rotates the gear H andconsequently revolves the two twisters J J; and it will also be noticedthat the portion of the face-plate L adjacent to the edge of the gear His provided with an arc-shaped recess to permit free rotation of saidgear and its engagementwith the bevel-gear-teeth g on the disk J. Thelower portion of the rope D after passing over the pulley 0 passes backand goes through the lower twister disk J, one strand, a, being abovethe horizontal spokes, and the other below, and the strands arerespectively held by the undercut notches ea in the vertical spokes Kwhich serve to permit the strands or. a to be adjusted and maintainedany desired distance apart, so that the operator can readily insert thearticle to be suspended between the strands. After passing through thelower twister J in the manner just described, the doubled rope goesaround the pulley F and then through the uppertwister Jin thesarnemanner asthrough the lower one. It will be understood that in practicethe upper strands, '6. 6., those passing through the twister J, must becloser together than the lower strands, and in order to accomplish suchresult the notches e e are made in the vertical spokes of each twister.It will also be understood that if the parts were inverted, as issometimes contemplated in practice, the two twister-disks would still beoperative; in other words, owing to the notches e e in the spokes K K ofboth twister-disks, I am enabled to invert the order of the parts andstill produce the same result.

Referring to Fig. 7, N designates the twistholder or tightener, whichconsists of a handle weighted at its lower end and provided at its upperextremity with two apertures, t 2, arranged one above the other anddesigned to permit the loose passageof the strands, a a. Thus by takinghold of the handle, the

double cord or wire cable can be tightened and prevented from slippingby twisting it once around the upper end thereof. Between the twoapertures i i, and on each side of the handle N, is a hook or clip, 0,projecting laterally from the body of the handle, and consisting of anopen hook downwardly curved as shown. By means of these hooks, the slacktaken up by twisting the line around the end of the handle N can beanchored and held fast, by simply slipping the two strands of the ropeunder the hooks. This twistholder or tightener acts to hold or retainthe twists in the cord or cable which are formed by the disk-twister, tohold the first article placed on the line, and it also serves as atightener to take up the slack which might result from the stretching ofthe cord or cable. When putting articles on the line, the action of thetwister disks revolving in opposite directions, transfers the twistsformed back of the lower disk over the back pulley through the upperdisk to the upper line, and vice versa when the articles are being takenofl the line.

The operation of the present device differs,

from that of my former patent in that the strands of the cable D aretwisted by means of the gear H imparting its rotary motion to the disksJ J, instead of directly rotating the single disk shown in said patent.

Fig. 2 illustrates the device attached to the window frame of abuilding, from which point the operator can operate the line withoutleaving the window.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patcut, is

1. In a clothes-line apparatus, the combination, with a rope or cablecomposed of two strands and passing over pulleys at each end, oftwister-disks respectively controlling the twist of the said rope orcable, and intermeshing gearing for operating said twister disks;substantially as set forth.

2. In aclothes-line apparatus the combination, with an endless rope orcable composed of a plurality of strands and supported at each bend orend, of twister disks having separate orifices for the passage of thestrands of the rope or cable, a mechanical connection between the twodisks, and gearing for imparting rotary motion to said disks;substantially as set forth.

3. In a clothes-line apparatus, the combination,-with an endless rope orcable composed of a plurality of strands and suitably supported at eachbend, of twister disks having apertures for the passage of the rope orcablestrands and adapted to rotate in opposite directions, gearing foractuating said disks, and a crank-disk for imparting motion to saidgearing, substantially as set forth.

4. In a clothes line apparatus, the combination, with the endless ropeor cable composed of separate strands and supported at each bend,of-twister disks controlling the twist of the strands of said rope orcable, said disks consisting of wheels having intersecting spokes, twospokes in each disk being provided with a longitudinally-disposed seriesof under-cut recesses, and means for rotating said disks, substantiallyas set forth.

5. Inaclothcs-line apparatus, the combination, with the crank-gear; ofthe disk, J having bevel-gear on the edge of its rim and gear teetharound its tread; the disk, J, intermeshing with the disk, J; the doublerope or cable, D, passing through both disks, the pulleys, O and F; andasuitable frame; substantially as set forth.

6. In a clothes-line apparatus, the combination, with the twovertically-arranged intermeshing twister-disks, and each havingacircumferential groove around its edge or tread;

of suitable supports for holding the two disks FREDERICK S. MCKAY.

Witnesses:

GEO. T. BRADSHAW, WM. THOMPSON.

